Hostage drama: Captor Arya occasionally visited elderly parents in Pune, their flat now locked

Pune, Oct 31 (PTI) Rohit Arya, the man at the centre of a hostage drama at a Mumbai recording studio, occasionally visited his elderly parents in Pune and their neighbours are in shock over the tragic incident involving children which ended in his violent death.

Arya (50) was shot dead by police on Thursday after he took hostage 17 boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 12, who had arrived at the studio in a high-rise in Mumbai's Powai area on his call to audition for a web series. Police rescued the children and two adults after a three-hour hostage drama.

His parents reside in a housing society in Kothrud, an upscale area in Pune, but are currently out of the city.

Residents of the Swaranjali Cooperative Housing Society on Friday said Arya's parents had been living there for several years, but they largely kept to themselves. Arya's parents are currently not in Pune, while his brother and sister are settled in the US, they said.

"His parents have been living here for the last several years and Rohit used to occasionally come to meet them. It is learnt Rohit used to live in Mumbai and had briefly stayed in Gujarat. His parents are not at their residence for the last few days. Their flat is locked," said a member of the housing society.

Arya's father, A R Harolikar, is a heart patient, he informed.

"The news of his death must have come as a huge shock to him. Rohit comes from a very learned family -- his father was an alumnus of the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) and ran a business," according to the society member.

The society resident maintained he had no idea when and why Rohit changed his surname.

"We came to know through news reports that he uses Arya as surname instead of Harolikar. We saw his face on TV yesterday and were shocked to know he was none other than Harolikar's son," he added.

According to police sources here, Arya had been living away from Pune for some time. Preliminary information suggests he had very little contact with his family in recent years.

Arya had earlier claimed dues for a project he had undertaken for the Maharashtra education department were pending, and he had even staged a protest in Pune to get the amount. PTI SPK RSY